The Right Whitelighter in the Right Place
by Rose Madder
Summary: When everything goes to hell, Leo starts doubting himself, and is taken in a journey to a different realm, where his path never crossed the Charmed Ones', and things turned out very differently. COMPLETE
1. Whitelighter Blues

Credits: "Angel of Mine" is a beautiful song written by Travon Potts and Rhett Lawrence, and sung by Monica; this story is based on Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life"; and, you know, I don't own the characters...

Scenario: This story is set right after "A Knight to Remember".

Last but not the least: thank you **_so much_** to all of you who reviewed my first story. Most of you write fan fiction, too, so you know how much it means. I hope you enjoy this one quite as much as you enjoyed "Redemption".

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It's 3:00 am and the manor is completely silent. Leo is standing beside his bed, watching Piper sleep: it breaks his heart to see that she has clearly cried herself to sleep.

They had been planning this romantic night for over a month; but that was before the fights began. When he thinks about the last couple of weeks, Leo can't say when exactly things started to go wrong; all he knows is that it's been one of those periods when nothing seems to go right, and during which he saw his wife cry quite a few times.

To make things worse, one week ago another of his charges got in major trouble with a very powerful warlock. Leo was away from home for the last five days, and before the warlock was finally vanquished, many lives were lost: the girl that had started the whole mess, three other witches related to her, and another Whitelighter that was only trying to help.

Leo can't help but think that, maybe, if he had handled things differently... It's impossible to know, yet he's tormented by guilt, thinking of the five innocents that died under his command. 

Yet Piper never lost hope, trusting he'd make it on time to celebrate their first anniversary. Knowing his wife as he does, Leo is sure that, when he didn't show up, she thought he was still mad at her because of their last fight. He saw the untouched dinner in the trash, along with the candles and the flowers that had adorned the table. He knows Paige is spending the night at a friend's apartment, and Phoebe and Cole are having their own romantic night somewhere else. Leo wonders how long Piper waited, all alone in the silent manor, wearing her new dress, bought specially for the occasion, watching as the minutes slowly turned into hours, inexorably marked by the grandfather's clock: nine, ten, eleven, midnight... How long until she finally accepted the fact that her husband wouldn't be home for their first important occasion as a married couple?

Leo's eyes are filled with tears as he, instead of changing and getting into the bed, orbs out, too anguished to sleep, needing some time to think things over. He doesn't see Piper shiver in her sleep and mutter: 

"Leo?... Honey?..."

When she gets no answer, Piper sighs and slips back into an agitated sleep.

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Leo orbs to an empty shore, where he finds a rock on which he can sit and watch the sea. The full moon bathes everything in a silver light, but he's too unhappy to take notice of the beauty that surrounds him. Though usually Leo is smart enough to know that ruminating old problems doesn't help solving the present ones, today he feels too depressed to be reasonable, and soon he's making an inventory of all the things that went wrong during the past few months.

Prue's death is on the top of the list of things that went wrong... except that saying that things went wrong in that case is the understatement of the year, Leo thinks bitterly. What kind of Whitelighter can't avoid the exposure of his charges, then tries to fix it by making a deal with the Source himself, for crying out loud, and finally orbs to the freaking Underworld, leaving two witches exposed and with no directions, at the mercy of the Source's own personal assassin?

Leo wipes the tears from his face, the tears that he has hidden from Piper. He just can't bring himself to tell her that he feels that he failed Prue on that terrible day. And not just Prue: over the last weeks, Leo has felt more and more that he failed all of them. Paige, whom he should guide and help, but whose trust he's yet to gain. Phoebe, always struggling with Cole's demon self, expecting help that he can't provide, unwilling to deal with someone of Cole's kind. And specially Piper, who could have married a normal guy, a mortal that could grow old along with her, who would be there for her on all important occasions, someone with a real job, that she could introduce to her friends, and wouldn't be summoned by the Elders in the middle of dinner.

"Another Whitelighter," he sighs, "a decent Whitelighter. That's what they need, that's what they deserve. How presumptuous of me, to think I was qualified to be the Whitelighter of the Charmed Ones..."

"So," says a voice coming from behind him, "you're the famous Leo Wyatt."

Leo turns around with a startle, and sees a girl who can't be more than fifteen, sitting a couple of steps behind him and watching him with a friendly smile.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" 

"My name is Diana," she says, "And I've heard a lot about you. Everybody has."

Leo raises an inquisitive eyebrow and she explains:

"The Whitelighter of the Charmed Ones, the one that married a witch, that deals with a demon on an everyday basis."

"Fine," he says, still suspicious, "so, you know me. But who are you, Diana?"

"I'm a Whitelighter, too." she says, with a confident smile. "I mean, I'll be one, as soon as I convince the Elders that I can handle it. They say I'm too young, but I know I..."

"I see where this is going to." says Leo, with an ironic smile. "Look, Diana, I died just a few years before _It's a Wonderful Life_ opened, but I'm familiar with the story of the angel that had to earn his wings by convincing the disenchanted man that the world would be a worse place if he hadn't been born: no offense, but you'll have to find another way to get your wings."

"Please, Leo!" says Diana, "At least let me try! Come on, just give me one chance and..."

"Try what, Diana?" says Leo, in a tired voice. "I'm sorry to disapoint you, but I'm not about to jump of a bridge, nor to abandon my mission: I'm not the kind of man who turns his back on his calling. Thus, I'm afraid your help isn't necessary here."

"But you've lost your faith." says Diana, gently.

Leo averts her eyes, flustered, and stares at the sea.

"Oh, Leo!" says Diana. "You can't do that: that's almost as bad as taking your own life, or abandoning your mission. You know that a Whitelighter's power is based on love: if you give up on love, what kind of Whitelighter will you be?"

"I never gave up on love." says Leo, sadly. "I just..."

"Gave up on hope." says Diana, moving to sit beside him. "And how can love survive without hope? Leo, if you don't trust yourself, how will your charges trust you?"

As Leo won't answer, she proceeds, softly:

"That's what makes you so special, Leo. You never lost hope, never stopped believing in the goodness in people's hearts."

"And look where it got us..." says Leo, bitterly.

"If that's what you think," says Diana, resolutely reaching out and taking his hand, "then you really need to take a look at what would have happened if things were different."


	2. It's a Wonderful Life - Or Is It?

Before Leo can object, he's back at the manor; when they get there, though, the clock shows 10:00 am. Everything else looks the same, and he gives Diana a bewildered look.

"They're still the Charmed Ones," she says, "but the Elders gave them another Whitelighter."

"Who?"

"Owen Moore."

"Owen..." says Leo, with a pang of jealousy. "He's an excellent Whitelighter."

After some hesitation, he asks, averting Diana's eyes:

"Did he and Piper...?"

"God, no!" says Diana, in mocking shock. "Owen, breaking the rules? Never! Their relationship is strictly professional."

"Well," sighs Leo, "maybe then she'll find a normal guy, someone that'll make her happy."

"In fact," says Diana, as gently as possible, "never having met you, Piper married Dan... exactly one year ago."

Leo winces, but still manages to say:

"Dan is a good guy... A-and I'll bet he never stands her up."

"No, he doesn't." admits Diana. "But she does."

Leo gives her an inquisitive look and she explains:

"Well, witches, too, have all sorts of last minute appointments, things that just, you know, come up. It hasn't been easy for Dan."

Before Leo can say anything, they hear footsteps coming down the stairs, and turn around just in time to see Prue coming from the second floor.

"But... how?" says Leo, astonished, as Prue walks right past them and heads towards the kitchen.

"Things turned out very differently." says Diana, as they follow Prue. "They never met Dr. Griffiths... or Shax. They weren't exposed, Piper wasn't shot, there was no need to reverse time."

"God, Diana!" says Leo, his heart wrenching at the sight of Prue talking to someone on the phone, so confident, so spirited, so... lively. "It only proves me right: they're much better without me."

"I'm not so sure about that, Leo..." says Diana.

"You're not... You're not sure?" -- he looks at her, outraged -- "Well, you'd better be sure! The life of a wonderful woman was saved, and her sisters... damn, Diana, do you have any idea of how hard it was on them?"

"But what about Paige?"

"Paige?" -- only then Leo remembers the fourth Charmed One... except that, in this realm, she's not a Charmed One.

"Paige never wanted to be a witch," he says, "the best thing we can do for her is leave her in peace."

"Peace," says Diana, taking Leo's hand again, "is something that girl doesn't have."

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Leo looks around and finds himself in the ladies restroom of some office. When the door is opened, he jumps back, searching for a place to hide, before he remembers that they can't be seen.

Paige walks in, holding her purse tightly. She looks nervous and her hands are trembling as she takes a small bottle from inside her purse and drinks from it.

"What?" says Leo, shocked. "But Paige doesn't drink: she knows she has a drinking problem, she never drinks!"

"She started drinking again a couple of weeks ago," says Diana, sadly, "she just couldn't take it any more."

"Take what?" says Leo, watching as Paige puts the bottle back in her purse and grabs a handful of mints.

"She knows she's different from people around her," says Diana, "even though she doesn't know how or why. Her entire life she hoped that by finding her biological family she would also find the answers to the questions that have been eating her inside... but she never found them."

Leo watches in utter sadness as Paige leaves.

"Will she look for help?"

"I don't think she will." says Diana. "How could she, when she doesn't know what her problem is?"

"Can't her sisters help her? After all, she may not be a Charmed One, but she's still their sister."

"It's very unlikely that they meet in this realm," says Diana, shrugging, "besides, I doubt they'd be able to help Paige with her problems, when they're overwhelmed by theirs." 

"What do you mean?" says Leo, worried. "What happened to them?"


	3. What a Difference a Friend Makes

Diana takes Leo's hand again and takes him back to the manor, where they find Prue and Owen in the attic, standing beside the Book of Shadows, staring angrily at each other.

"I'm warning you, Prue." says Owen. "They've had enough of your insubordination and, frankly, so have I."

"Owen," says Prue, her eyes sparkling dangerously, "I have said it before, and I'll say it again: the rules apply to normal situations, and the present situation is anything but normal, CAN'T YOU SEE IT, DAMN IT?!?"

Owen gives her a reproachful look and says:

"It's impossible to talk to you when you're like this: let me know when you calm down."

He orbs out, and Prue screams in anger and TKs a jar against the wall.

"Prue isn't like this." says Leo, astonished. "She seems to be out of control."

"And she is." says Diana, watching with great concern as Prue lets herself fall on a chair, breathing heavily. "The Elders are this close to taking away her powers."

"WHAT?!?!? No, they'd never do that."

"They would," says Diana, "if they had no choice. And she's leaving them with no choice."

Diana walks towards the woman still sitting on the chair, with her head down, and says:

"Prue was always very independent, and willful. The Elders found it remarkable that she listened to you... well, at least most of the times." she adds, with a smile.

"It's not like she never listened to anyone!" says Leo. "She was impetuous and obstinate, alright, but she also had a heart of gold, and was completely devoted to the cause of Good. The thing is, she wouldn't be bossed around: you had to reason with her, talk to her. And once you'd convinced her, she was the best and most reliable ally you could possibly have."

"The point is," says Diana, patiently, "you knew how to deal with her. But you're no longer here."

"But I'm sure Owen..."

"Owen is a great guy," Diana interrupts him, "but we both know he never gets emotionally involved with his charges. He works with their minds, not with their hearts. And -- let's face it -- Prue's mind is a tough one; it's her heart that is tender. That's why she listened to you: because you were not just her Whitelighter, but also her friend."

As Prue stands up and leaves the room, Diana adds:

"Besides, things haven't been easy on Prue: she has been fighting evil all by herself, since Piper had her breakdown, and Phoebe fell into depression..."

"Breakdown?? Piper had a... Where's she?" says Leo, alarmed, already reaching out for Diana's hand.


	4. Just When I Needed You Most

Leo looks around, confused. They're in a room he's never seen before, and Diana explains:

"This is the house of Dan and Piper: after they got married, he insisted that she moved in with him."

Leo barely acknowledges her, too shocked by the sight of Piper curled under the covers, staring blankly at the wall. Her usually beautiful hair is messy and dull, and she has big black circles under her eyes.

"Honey," he whispers, kneeling beside her, "what happened to you?"

He turns to Diana with tears in her eyes.

"Who did that to her?"

"The pressure was too much for her." says Diana. "She exploded virtually everything she pointed at during the last three weeks; the time came when she wouldn't dare leaving the house any more. Soon, she wouldn't leave her bedroom, either. And since yesterday, she's... well, you can see by yourself: the poor thing is terrified that she may cause any more damage."

Dan's voice startles Leo, and he spins around to see the other man standing at the doorway:

"Piper?" he calls, hesitantly.

"Stay away from me." says Piper, hoarsely. "I'm dangerous."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me, Piper." says Dan, but he stays where he is, clearly afraid to get closer to Piper.

"Go away, Dan." says Piper, on the verge of tears. "Please."

Dan gives her one last anguished look and leaves, dejected. As he's leaving, Leo yells at him, furious:

"What are you doing, you coward? Can't you see she needs you? Come back here!"

He turns back to Diana and shouts, enraged:

"Where's Owen? Where's her Whitelighter when she needs him?"

"He's done everything he can, Leo." says Diana. "And so has Dan. They have done their best, trying to help her, with no success. Dan loves her, but he can't understand her. Owen understands her, but he doesn't love her."

Suddenly Piper starts to cry silently, and Leo closes his eyes, fighting his own tears.

They hear angry voices coming from down the corridor, and Piper covers her ears with her hands and shuts her eyes.

"Don't you dare saying I can't see my sister, Dan!" Prue shouts.

"Leave her alone, Prue!" says Dan, in the same tone. "This madness of Power of Three, the Charmed Ones, protecting the innocents, that's what's left her the way she is. If you want to be a witch, fine, but leave my wife out of this!"

"Get out of my way!" -- they hear a thud, followed by Dan's gasp, as he is thrown against the wall.

"Prue used her power against an innocent?" says Leo, shocked.

"I told you she's out of control..." says Diana, waving her head.

When Prue walks through the door, Piper promptly says:

"Back off, Prue! It's not safe!"

Ignoring her sister's warning, Prue walks towards her and kneels beside the bed, saying gently:

"Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling today?"

"Scared." says Piper, in a weak voice.

"There's no need to be scared, Piper." says Prue, stroking her sister's cheek. "Everything's gonna be alright, but you have to get off this bed and fight. We can't help you if you don't fight."

"I can't, Prue..." says Piper, starting to cry again. "I'm sorry..."

"Sweetie, you have to." says Prue, with tears in her voice. "We can't fight the Brotherhood without the Power of Three."

"The Brotherhood of the Thorn?" says Leo, bewildered. "But they defeated the Brotherhood a long time ago."

"No, they didn't." says Diana. "They didn't find out about their plan until it was too late to stop them. It had something to do with a merger between two communication companies and..."

"I know," Leo interrupts her, impatiently, "Cole told us all about it."

"Not in this realm." says Diana.

"What? He remained evil?" says Leo, deeply surprised.

"In fact, he never got the chance to make this choice," says Diana, "when Owen e Phoebe were in Cole's apartment, and she begged Owen to heal him, he explained to her that he could only heal someone who had been hurt by evil: the rules are clear."

"What... what happened then?"

"Cole didn't survive the wounds," says Diana, "he was already dead when Prue, Piper and the Zolthar arrived."

"Wow..." Leo murmurs, surprised by the utter sadness he feels. "What about Phoebe? How did she deal with it?"

Instead of answering, Diana offers her hand again, and Leo holds it.


	5. Of Broken Hearts and Lost Souls

Just a few notes before we start:

First, thanks for the reviews: I love reviews! :-) 

Second, as for Neptune's remark about the story being written in the present tense: I prefer stories written in the past tense, too. The point is, I'm Brazilian and there are quite a few tricky differences between verb tenses in Portuguese and in English. I figured out I'd cause less damage writing in the present tense. But thanks for letting me know, hopefully I'll feel more confident with the whole past tense thing in the future (okay, maybe not in the near future). And please feel free to tell me whenever I cross the line that separates "English as a second language" from "plain bad writing".

Last but not the least: I almost posted both chapters 5 and 6 today. Almost! But I decided to torture you guys a little longer. What, you thought I'd start posting the chapters before the whole story was ready? No freaking way! I've done this in the past and it was a **_huge_** mistake. I wrote this story in Portuguese a couple of months ago, I'm just translating it into English. The reason to post the chapters one by one? Well, what can I say? I'm mean. HUAHAHAHA!

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It takes a while for Leo's eyes to adjust to the gloomy room they're in. The window of Phoebe's bedroom is closed and the curtains are drawn, leaving the room in semi-darkness. Phoebe is in her bed, sound asleep.

"Is it night already?" Leo asks, confused.

"No," says Diana, "it's 11:00 am. But now Phoebe never gets up before noon."

"But college...?"

"She quit."

"Didn't anyone...?"

"Phoebe doesn't speak to Owen anymore: she never forgave him for letting Cole die. Her relation with Prue has deteriorated since then, too, since Prue was never fond of Cole. Piper was the only one she still talked to, but lately none of them have left their houses..."

"Poor Phoebe..." says Leo, looking at Phoebe's emaciated face. "She seems worn out... and thinner, too."

"She barely eats." Diana tells him. "Ever since Cole died, she's fading away."

"It must have devastated her..." Leo sighs, recalling the despair in Phoebe's eyes as she begged him to heal Cole, with or without the Elder's consent.

An unsettling thought hits him, and he turns to Diana, afraid to ask, yet needing to know.

"Diana," he asks, tensely, "what happened to Cole after he died?"

"Oh, Leo," says Diana, with a sad smile, "you know what happens to demons once they're vanquished..."

Leo gasps and reaches out to lean against the wall, feeling weak on his knees.

"But... but... he was half human!"

"But he spent his entire life suppressing his humanity and serving the Source." says Diana, sadly. "When he died, the Source called for his soul, and there was no one from the other side to plead for him."

"He was going to choose Good..." Leo whispers, shaken.

"But he never did." says Diana. "Not in this realm."

Leo closes his eyes and runs his hand across his face, not wanting to see anything else in this world that seems to be all about suffering.

"Take me back, Diana." he says, in a trembling voice. "Please."

Diana walks towards Leo and cups his face with her hands, making him look her in the eye.

"The objective of this little trip we've made, Leo," she says, softly, "wasn't to make you suffer. Remember, none of this really happened. What we saw here was all the pain and loss that you have prevented in the last three years, with your courage and generosity. Each of these people were blessed for having you in their lives, as you were for having them in yours. Never doubt this."

Instead of holding Leo's hand, this time Diana throws her arms around his neck and hugs him, and Leo feels the world revolve around him once more. When he opens his eyes again, he's back in his bedroom, where Piper is still asleep. As he looks at his wife, safe and sound in their bed, Leo feels overwhelmed by relief and thankfulness. He silently changes and gets under the covers, cuddling with her.

"Tomorrow morning," he whispers before he, too, falls asleep, "we have a lot to talk about. A lot."


	6. It's a Wonderful Life

Warning: Sappy, sappy, irredeemably sappy chapter. Sorry, guys. I'm afraid I'm sappy myself.

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When Leo wakes up and looks at the clock on the night table, he's surprised to see that it's past 9:00 am. He sits up on the bed and rubs his eyes, still drowsy. Then the memories of last night come back to him, and he immediately gets up and starts to get dressed. Even tough he's not sure of whether it was real or just a dream, Leo can't wait to go downstairs and make sure everyone's okay.

After hurriedly shaving and brushing his teeth, he walks down the stairs and his heart jumps as he sees Phoebe, Paige and Cole talking in the living room. They become silent and look at him as they hear his footsteps.

"Good morning." says Leo. "Where's Piper?"

"Good morning, sleepy head." says Phoebe, with a smile. "I had never seen you get up so late. Piper has already left: she had to open the club to the guys who are changing the floor."

"I see." says Leo, slightly disappointed. "Well, then I guess I'll meet her there."

"She is probably on her way back home by now, Leo," says Phoebe, glancing at her watch, "she said she'd be home around ten."

Leo hesitates, willing to make up with Piper, but Phoebe adds with a smile:

"Besides, Cole and Paige have something to say to you."

To Leo's surprise, Phoebe raises her eyebrows at Paige and Cole, and the half demon and the half witch exchange uneasy looks.

"You go first." says Paige, between clenched teeth.

"Why me? You go." Cole mutters.

Phoebe rolls her eyes, takes a coin from her pocket, and flips it, saying:

"Heads, Paige goes first; tails, it's Cole."

When the coin lies still, the three of them look at it, and Paige moans, while Cole gives her a victorious smile.

A very bewildered Leo watches as Paige stands up and says:

"Leo, can we talk in the kitchen?"

"Sure." says Leo, giving Phoebe an intrigued look, but this one just dismisses him with a smile.

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Leo looks at Paige, sitting right across the kitchen table.

"I know I haven't made things easy for you," she says, "it seems that ever since I became a witch I have done nothing but get in trouble... And, well... Piper and I don't exactly get along well, and I'm sure it's not easy for you, since she's your wife..."

Paige fumbles with the pendant hanging from her necklace, while Leo looks at her, surprised.

"Anyway," she sighs, "basically, I'd like to apologize for all the times when I didn't listen to you, and ended up messing things up, and you had to go and fix everything."

"I had never had a Whitelighter... or a brother in law." she adds, giving him a sheepish smile. "This whole thing is sort of, uh, new. But I would really like to give it a try. I mean, if you want to."

"Sure." says Leo, with a smile. "Don't worry: it's only normal that we need some time to adjust to each other."

He reaches out over the table and holds Paige's hand. She squeezes his hand, with a smile of relief.

"Wow!" she says. "That was easier than I had expected."

"Why?" Leo asks, surprised. "Do I seem to be so stern?"

"Well, you know..." says Paige, shrugging. "Piper is your wife, and Phoebe is your friend. I'm just another charge."

"Paige," says Leo, "never say that. That's not the way I see you. First, none of the witches under my supervision is 'just another charge'; and second, you're family: it's not your fault that you arrived later. We just need some time to get to know each other."

Leo and Paige smile at each other for a while, than she says, with a sly smile:

"Now comes the best part." She turns to the door and yells: "Cole Turner! It's your turn!"

As Paige is leaving the kitchen, Leo stands up and pours himself some coffee, smiling as he wonders what Phoebe may have said to Paige and Cole to spark those sudden conscience crises.

When he turns back towards the door he sees Cole leaning on the doorframe, with his hands in his pockets, looking like a man who wishes he was anywhere in the world rather than here. Leo lowers his eyes to his mug and bites his lower lip, trying to hide a smile that would most certainly annoy Cole: it's amazing how knowing how close a guy was to be condemned to the eternal fire can make you feel more good-willed towards him.

"Look, you don't need to talk to me just to make Phoebe happy." he says, leaning against the counter and looking at Cole across the room. "Just sit there and have some coffee: I'll tell her that everything's fine."

By the look on Cole's face, he's clearly tempted to accept Leo's offer, but instead he waves his head and says:

"No, that's okay. I guess we, uh, we would have to talk, sooner or later."

Leo just looks at him, not knowing what to say, and Cole cleans his throat and proceeds:

"I'm afraid I'm not exactly a, uh... team work kind of guy. Specially when it comes to Whitelighters; you know, different methods and everything. Besides, old habits die hard. But you're Phoebe's Whitelighter, and since she seems to make such a great account of your opinion..." -- he scratches his head, uneasy -- "I guess I should trust your judgement... sometimes."

"I have to admit that your help has been quite useful, too." says Leo, tapping his fingers on his mug. "And I guess I haven't made things very easy on you, either, but as you said, decades of conditioning is hard to break."

He sips his coffee and adds:

"I never really thanked you for serving as bait for the Furies, when Piper almost became one of them."

Cole shrugs and says:

"You saved my life... twice."

Leo shivers as he recalls the events from last night. He faces Cole and says:

"As far as I'm concerned, we can call it even."

Cole gives him a surprised look, and Leo adds, smirking:

"Considering the pace we live, I think we both could use a truce."

Cole shrugs: despite the apparent nonchalance, he's visibly happy with the deal.

"Sounds good to me."

Leo himself is surprised to hear his own voice saying:

"One of these days we can have a beer at P3... and try to establish some ground rules."

"Yeah." says Cole, with a surprised grin. "Yes, we can."

Just then, they hear the front door being opened, and Piper saying something to Phoebe. Leo perks up and puts his mug on the counter. Cole notices it and says:

"I guess you and Piper have some things to talk over."

"Yes, we do." says Leo. He hesitates, not wanting to sound like he's dismissing Cole: "I mean, unless you still wanna talk..."

"No," says Cole, moving away from the door and motioning him to go, "go ahead."

As Leo is leaving, though, Cole adds, embarrassed:

"Actually, I do need a favor: when you see Phoebe, make sure you tell her I've already talked to you... otherwise I'm afraid I'm gonna sleep on the couch tonight."

"Don't worry." says Leo, chuckling as he slaps Cole's shoulder.

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He finds Piper and Phoebe sitting on the couch. When Phoebe sees him, she immediately gets up and asks:

"Is Cole in the kitchen?"

"Yes." says Leo. While Phoebe heads towards the kitchen, he says with a smile:

"Whatever it was that you told him, it must have been pretty convincing."

Phoebe winks at him and goes join Cole in the kitchen, leaving Leo and Piper alone. After staring at each other for an awkward moment, they both say at the same time:

"We need to talk."

They smile, then Leo sits by Piper's side and says:

"Please, let me go first."

He takes her hands in his and says, in just one breath:

"Piper, I'm so sorry for the way I've acted for the last few weeks. It's been a very hard time for me, but that's no excuse for my behavior. I've thought a lot about us, and of how my life would have no meaning without you. You're beyond doubt the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I should show it to you more often."

Leo halts, alarmed to see the silent tears running across Piper's face.

"Oh, Leo!" she says, with trembling voice, "I'm so glad to hear this! I was starting to fear that you had regretted the choice you made, marrying me against the Elders' judgement."

"God, Piper, no!" says Leo, shocked. He pulls Piper towards him and holds her tight. "I never for one second doubted I had made the right choice."

Recalling the doubts he held last night, he feels a pang of guilt and adds:

"The only doubt I've ever had was whether I was good enough for you."

"You are." says Piper, leaning against his chest. Suddenly, she starts to cry again, and Leo gently makes her raise her head and face him.

"Honey," he says, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," says Piper, smiling through the tears, "just the hormones, you know how women get..."

"PMS time again?" Leo asks, with a hesitant smile.

"No." says Piper, wiping away the tears and giving him a bright smile. "I was going to tell you during our anniversary dinner: there won't be any pre menstrual stress for me for the last few months."

Leo gives her an intrigued look, and Piper smiles sheepishly and put both hands on her still flat abdomen. When he finally gets it, his jaw drops.

"Are you...?" he says, pointing at her belly, and Piper nods, with a radiant smile.

"You... I... We..." Leo finally gives up and just holds Piper again, feeling in heaven. They stay in each other's arms, smiling, for a while, until he asks:

"When did you find out?"

"The lab results arrived yesterday." says Piper, still nested in her husband's arms.

"Have you told your sisters yet?"

"Of course not!" says Piper, raising her head and facing him. "I wanted to tell you first!"

Leo knows he must be looking pretty goofy, but he just can't wipe off this wide smile from his face. He kisses Piper again and again, her face, forehead, lips. Suddenly they hear I thud, and turn around to see Phoebe shoving Cole's arm, after he accidentally knocked down a chair as they were trying to get to the stairs unnoticed.

"Sorry!" says Phoebe, eyeing her boyfriend, who just shrugs, embarrassed. "Just pretend you never saw us, we're already leaving."

She takes Cole by his hand and they're about to leave the room when Leo calls them, after giving an interrogative look to Piper.

"Wait." Seeing their inquisitive looks, he says, with a smile: "We're having a baby."

Cole's eyes grow round, and Phoebe squeaks and runs towards her sister, virtually jumping on her lap.

"A baby!" she says. "You're gonna be a mommy!"

"And you're gonna be an auntie!" says Piper, giggling.

As Paige comes running downstairs, alerted by the noise, Phoebe screams:

"Piper is having a baby!"

Paige dashes towards the couch, almost knocks Cole down, jumps over Leo, and hugs Piper, yelling:

"A baby, a baby! We're having a baby!"

Meanwhile, Cole carefully approaches the group gathered on the couch, and taps Leo's shoulder, saying with a grin:

"Don't worry: you still have a lot of time before the baby is born, eventually they'll remember that you, too, are part of the event..."

Leo chuckles, because he has indeed been almost thrown off the couch, by the three very excited women that are laughing and speaking all at the same time.

Cole holds out his hand, smiling:

"I hope you don't mind me congratulating you in the old-fashioned way."

"Not at all." says Leo, smiling and shaking the hand he's offering.

Then Phoebe turns to Leo and hugs him, saying:

"Congratulations, dad!"

"Yeah, congratulations." says Paige, standing up and hugging him, too.

Meanwhile, Cole gives Piper an uncertain look. He hesitates, but since she seems to be in such a good mood, he shrugs and says: "Congratulations", and gives her a quick, awkward hug.

"See?" says Phoebe, giving Cole a victorious smile. "I knew it!"

"Had you had a premonition?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, right." says Cole, smirking. Ignoring the face Phoebe makes on him, Cole proceeds, with a smile: "Now she's gonna call it a premonition, but all that happened was that we stopped by a drugstore on our way back home, the cashier didn't have change, and before I could stop her..."

"My sisterly intuition had already made me get..." says Phoebe, reaching out for her purse, lying on the coffee table, "... this!"

She takes a rattle from inside her purse and shows it with a proud smile. The abrupt movement causes the rattle to make a tinkling sound, and Paige says with a smile:

"An angel has just won his wings!"

When Cole looks at Paige as if she had lost her mind, Phoebe laughs and says:

"I don't think 'It's a Wonderful Life' was a big hit in the Underworld..."

Cole looks at her, even more confused, and she explains:

"It's an old movie, baby: the idea is that, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

"It's not a bell, it's a rattle." says Cole.

"Maybe," says Leo, with a smile, "it was a very young angel..."

_"How you changed my world, you'll never know  
I'm different now, you helped me grow  
You came into my life, sent from above  
When I lost all hope, you showed me love.  
I'm checking for you boy, you're right on time  
Angel of mine..."_

**The End**


End file.
